NATO's Security Assistance and Training Mission for Ukraine (NSATU), which is tasked with supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, will have about 700 staff members with headquarters in Germany, Poland and Romania, said Secretary General Mark Rutte, reports UNN with reference to Romania-insider.
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NSATU is going to take over the coordination of US military assistance. The move is largely seen as an attempt to protect the aid mechanism for Ukraine from a possible return to the White House of Donald Trump, a NATO critic.
“The message to the Russian leader Vladimir Putin is that we will continue, that we will do everything necessary to ensure that he does not get what he wants, that Ukraine will win,” Rutte said.
The day before, Rutte visited one of the bases where the NSATU will be deployed in Wiesbaden, Germany. Allied troops from more than 10 countries are already working there. Later, the mission will move to a nearby hangar and will be supplemented by Ukrainian servicemen.
The total number of NSATU personnel is expected to be around 700, including military personnel stationed at NATO's SHAPE military headquarters in Belgium and at logistics centers in Poland and Romania.
The Wiesbaden base also houses the US unit responsible for long-range missiles that Washington will temporarily deploy to Germany from 2026 to counter the threat from Russian missiles stationed near Kaliningrad, about 500 kilometers from Berlin. Rutte emphasized the importance of NATO having the full range of capabilities needed to deter the Russian threat.
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